By Audley Boyd, Assistant Sport EditorIT IS not exactly crunch time, but if ever there was a time when Harbour View needed to maintain their stranglehold on Rivoli United it is now.
They meet in a Wray And Nephew National Premier League clash that is crucial to either team's chances of making the semi-finals this afternoon at 3:30 at Prison Oval.
Another team, Waterhouse, is even more desperate to continue a winning trend it developed this season over Arnett Gardens to rescue its top four place. Waterhouse host at Drewsland at 3:30.
Two other games are slated to kick off at the same time in and around the capital city.
Tivoli Gardens will hope to be a mean host to Constant Spring at Railway Oval and champions Portmore United tackle relegation threatened Invaders at Ferdie Neita Park.
Harbour View don't have that problem when facing Rivoli. Whether they meet in a street, lane or corner, the east Kingston club hasalways delivered a beating to their Spanish Town rivals.
The latest took place during the last set of second-round fixture when Harbour View ran out 3-1 winners at the venue they will meet at today. Prior to that, Harbour View won 4-2 at Compound.
Rivoli need to find a way to shake off their Harbour View complex. They lie joint fifth on points at 42, five behind Harbour View who share joint second with Portmore at 47.
Marginally fourth are Waterhouse who are under pressure with 43.
A one-time, long-time frontrunners Waterhouse seemed to have forgotten how to win. It has cost them precious points and they are dangling. That explains why they fired coach Harold Walker and two assistants after their last game.
The good news is their results over Arnett this season - 3-0 at Arnett and 3-0 at Waterhouse Mini Stadium.
That's before Arnett finally found form though. Now, the 'Junglists' have gone seven Premier League matches without a loss while scoring five wins to reach 35 points. As long as they continue winning, they will brighten their remote chances of making the semis.
In a Jackie Bell KO semi-final against NPL leaders Tivoli at the weekend, Arnett lost on penalties. Though it went that far, coach Hugh McCarthy thought the defining moment was when injury robbed his team of the services of Walter Boyd and midfielder Cornel Chin-Sue almost 15 minutes into the game.
Both have not featured together against Waterhouse this season and it would be fair to say their participation, or lack of it, could make the difference.
Tivoli Gardens, the runaway leaders at 54, are on fire but Geoffrey Maxwell's Constant Spring (29) have played them tough for 1-2 and 3-2 margins this season and will not be easy pushovers.
Despite their position, Invaders have pushed Lenny Hyde's Portmore hard for 0-0 and 1-2 finishes. The added pressure of being a point above Seba's 20 at the drop zone should inspire another gutsy display and testing time from Invaders, though, on past experience, Portmore get the edge.
Village on the prowl
Paul A. Reid
Staff Reporter
WESTERN BUREAU:
WRAY AND Nephew National Premier League (NPL) semi-final aspirants Village United will be seeking their first win this season over relegation threatened Seba United when they meet this afternoon in a third round Zone B game at the Elliston Wakeland Centre at 3:30.
Fifth placed Village, who are seeking to return to the semi-finals for the second straight year, have not managed to beat Seba their two previous meetings this season. With time running out in the regular season, the Trelawny team has won just once in its past six games dating back to the second round.
DEFENDING CHAMPIONS
However, Village are on 42 points and within touching distance of the teams just ahead of them as Waterhouse, who have lost form since winning the end of first round finals, are on 43 with Harbour View and defending champions Portmore both on 47.
Seba, on the otherhand, are second last and every point from here on will be crucial to their cause of avoiding relegation.
The former champions are yet to score a goal in two outings at Elliston this season and have had miserable form on the road where they have scored just one win, amassing seven points and went down 1-0 to Invaders at the same venue in their last outing. That lone win came against last placed and relegation bound Star Cosmos.
On paper, Village have a stronger team than Seba, especially in the midfield but have yet to prove that superiority on the field.
Shane Crawford appears to have recovered from an injury as he played the entire 90 minutes against Tivoli and will join Ian McAnuff, Fabian Dawkins and Athol Franklyn in the midfield.
If he is back to full fitness, national captain Theodore Whitmore will lead the Seba midfield that should include Iton Scott, Damion Williams, Wilfred Smith and Lacon Brissett.
The Montego Bay team has great potential in the strike force of Kemar Mills, Denzil Watson and Jermaine Anderson but will find the Village defence, one of the strongest and most experienced in the league, more than able to take care of business.
